Have been very taken with the documentary #polyfacesfilm @regrarians about regenerative animal farming both as a movement and essential approach (it seems to me at least) for most of our land. The film was made by Australian farm planners/consultants/teachers Darren Doherty and life partner Lisa Heenan, and it vividly drives home one point: that we can all do better in our stewardship of the environment and start to repair the damage we’ve all been complicit in, if even only indirectly. I thought I’d post about it here to help them, but haven’t received any payment in cash or kind, and they’ve not had any influence over the content here. Just a goodwill gesture on my part this Christmas.
Now on our complicity and #PolyfaceFarm’s #JoelSalatin approach view, it’s complicated, but it is clear to me that we’re basically on the same page but starting from different points. When Joel Salatin writes on his facebook page back in July 2017 “Of course the climate is changing, like it has for a long time. How much human activity is responsible is certainly debatable”, this statement does muddy the much clearer points made in the Doherty’s film.
The Polyface farm approach appears to encourage more sustainable farm stewardship, and accepts that large-scale farming and selective breeding has some preferred interactions with consumers right now: for example cheap grain for animal feed lowers costs, consumers preference for the plumper chickens used in industrial farming. But we as consumers need to lead first and accept uneven supply and the unadulterated flavours in our favourite foods.
For the next 4 days you can watch Polyfaces for free by going to the http://www.polyfaces.com/free/ , click on “Please watch the streaming of this multi-award winning film here”, then click on the blue “I want this” button and enter an email address plus the discount code (until 9th December) – worldsoilday – and it will allow you to watch for free (the credit card box disappears after you enter the discount code).
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A trigger warning, the film does show clearly the how animals are prepared for slaughter and it can be a shock to see for the first time.
